The Village of Saugerties tentative budget for 2020/2021 calls for a modest increase in spending, along with a reduction in the tax rate. Spending is projected at $2,430,339, up 3.4 percent from this year’s $2,250,397.
While the amount to be raised by taxes, $1,780,346 is up 2.26 percent from the current fiscal year’s $1,740,997, the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value would decrease from $6 to $5.90. This is the result of an increase in the total assessed values in the village.
The budget includes money for the purchase of a weed harvester from Marine Diving Service, whose owner, Zdanek Ulman, also known as “Z” harvested weeds last year, but has decided to concentrate on his main business, which is diving. The budget includes payments of $25,000 each from the Town of Saugerties and contractor John Mullen towards the purchase, with the village appropriating the same amount.
The budget sets aside money for the first payment on a fire truck, which the fire department has requested, but the Village Board has not yet approved. If the village goes ahead with the purchase, the money would cover the first payment, which would not be due until the next fiscal year. The full cost of the engine would not be given until the village was committed to the purchase.
The budget calls for the mayor’s annual salary to remain at $10,200, and the trustees’ salaries to remain at $3,600 each.
The budget at this point is tentative. The board voted to set a public hearing on the plan for its next meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on April 6 in the Village Hall, 43 Partition Street. This timing is contingent on a change in the state regulation limiting public gatherings, which are now forbidden because of the coronavirus. “The rule is, no public meetings, and you can’t have a public hearing that’s not open to the public,” Murphy said.
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